


Never Work Out

by obsessivemuch



Category: Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Genre: Angst, Break Up, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-09-12
Updated: 2004-09-12
Packaged: 2017-10-28 15:37:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/309395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsessivemuch/pseuds/obsessivemuch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes all that can be salvaged is friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Work Out

Trent washed down the tables busily when a late arrival pushed through the doors of Hayley's Cyberspace. "I'm sorry, we're closed."

"Hey, Trent," Kira said, glancing around the empty room.

"Oh hey." He straightened up nervously and stared at the pretty blonde. "I didn't expect to see you here tonight."

"Conner and Ethan had mentioned that they were going to be here tonight, but it doesn't look like they ever showed." She grinned self-consciously and smoothed her long denim skirt.

"Nope, I haven't seen them all night." He set down the towel on the half-clean table. "Do you want an apple juice?"

"But you said you were closed."

"I think Rangers get special privileges," he remarked and headed behind the bar as Kira sat on one of the stools.

"Where's Hayley?" she asked, idly playing with a nearby straw wrapper.

"It's her day off. I think she said something about wanting to check out a new computer equipment store." He brought out her apple juice and set his own water down, choosing the seat next to her. Kira shifted away slightly – it was hardly obvious except that Trent noticed everything when it came to his crush. "I'm just glad she trusts me to close up the café."

"Why wouldn't she?" She looked at him with surprise.

"Because I was evil," he said quietly. "I know I broke everyone's trust."

"You might have damaged it, Trent, but I don't think you broke it beyond repair." Kira laid a hand over his on the bar and smiled with encouragement. "Conner's almost friendly to you now, right?"

Trent laughed. "I really wish I knew what I could do to make him see that I'm not evil anymore."

"It's going to take time, Trent. He took your betrayal harder than anyone else, you know." Kira stared into space, remembering a time that Trent could not even imagine.

"Harder than you?" he inquired, wondering if he had imagined the attraction between them.

"Much harder than me especially since he was convinced you would never be good again. I never quite believed that you wouldn't find your way back to our side. The number of times he spent trying to convince me that you were permanently evil and needed to be stopped . . . he was trying to protect me, I guess."

"He's very protective of you then," Trent said quietly.

With a soft chuckle, Kira moved her hand back to her apple juice and sipped while she considered the comment. "He's very protective of the team. He takes his leadership responsibilities very seriously, and protecting Ethan and I is a priority. You'll see – eventually, he'll be the same way around you."

"I don't think so, Kira. He'll never trust me fully." Trent watched her smile fade slightly as she pondered his point.

"You never know, Trent – Conner can surprise you. And after you helped with the Triassic powers, he knows that you trust him. The rest will follow eventually." Her eyes were warm as she looked into his dark eyes.

He fidgeted on the stool and finally asked apprehensively, "I was wondering if you wanted to go to a movie with me on Friday night."

His question took her by surprise judging from the little jump she gave when he asked her on the date. Kira avoided his eyes and fiddled with the straw of her apple juice. Just when he had started to wonder if she would ever look at him again, she spoke softly, gazing at him with sad hazel eyes. "I can't, Trent. I'm sorry."

Trent was unhappy with her reply, but he tried to tread carefully around the subject. "Because I turned evil?"

She blushed with embarrassment yet she didn't bother to deny the truth. "Partially. I do trust you as a teammate, Trent. You've saved both Ethan and Dr. O, and you've been a great help to us when we've needed it the most."

"We are friends, right?" Trent felt hurt by her use of the word "teammate".

"Of course," she said quickly, trying to reassure him. "It's just – I'm not ready – we were both such different people before you became the White Ranger."

"So because I'm the White Ranger, I'm not good enough for you?" The sting of her comment seemed to land on top of the scab of distrust he sensed from her.

"That's not what I meant," Kira said with genuine frustration. "It's complicated."

"Why is it so complicated?"

"Because once upon a time you were the sweet, artistic busboy who listened to me play in my first real gig here and didn't know anything about the life I was leading and now you're not – you are the White Ranger. You knew me as someone else, and I'm not the same person who you drew in that picture up there," she answered, pointing to the superhero picture on the wall.

"You haven't changed that much, Kira," Trent protested.

"I have, Trent. I have a place now and friends who I trust with my life." Her voice softened gently. "And I had a crush on someone who was wonderful and sweet and uncomplicated."

"Had?" he echoed, hearing the past tense in her voice.

"I can't just forget that you were ever evil, Trent. I can't forget the way you stood over me and threatened to kill me. It haunts me in my nightmares," she admitted. "You hurt me when you walked away at the lake. All I ever wanted to do was help you, but you wouldn't let me, let us, do what we could. And then you tricked us with the rigged ATV. You'll never know the way I felt when the clone attacked us – the betrayal and heartbreak." Kira paused to gather her thoughts. "We are friends again, Trent, and I trust you to fight with us, but I can't trust you with my heart."

"Is there someone else?" he asked helplessly.

She laughed outright at that question. "At Reefside where the IQ of the average jock is closer to 100 than normal? Where I'm still ridiculed for being a musician even though everyone shows at my gigs? No, Trent, I promise."

"But what about –?" Trent faltered as he thought about the person he truly wanted to know about. Conner watched Kira more than he seemed to watch anyone else, and there always seemed to be a smile on his face as he paid close attention to the girl. In fact, the Red Ranger's coolness toward him seemed to be a direct result of his betrayal of Kira because Conner always scrutinized them closely when he was talking to Kira.

Kira smiled at him with puzzled eyes. "What about who?"

"Never mind." If Kira did not know that Conner was interested in her romantically, he was not going to be the one to point it out. He was used to keeping secrets anyway.

"All right," she said, accepting his evasion. After finishing her juice, she hopped off the stool. "I should go. I need to find Conner and Ethan because we're supposed to be studying for science together. Dr. O mentioned something about a pop quiz tomorrow."

"Not much of a pop quiz if he mentioned it," Trent replied wryly.

"Well, it was more of a hint because Conner and I are not doing well in that class." Her smile was replaced by concern. "Trent, you're okay, right? You don't look like you've been sleeping very well."

"I'm fine, Kira," he said brusquely. "You should go join your friends."

With a wounded sigh, she shook her head. "They're your friends, too, Trent, whether you can see it or not. In fact, you should go bowling with us next weekend."

"I don't think I can."

"Come on, the boys are pretty competitive, but it's a blast anyway."

He hated the pity in her eyes and her tone. "I can't. Dad and I are going camping," he lied bitterly.

Her smile wavered a bit. "That sounds like fun."

"Yeah, well, you should go, Kira. I still have to finish cleaning up." He turned his back to her and started wiping down the tables.

"All right, Trent, see you tomorrow at school." He purposely waited until he heard the door close behind her a few moments later. When he turned, the room was completely empty.

He picked up her apple juice glass and hefted the weight carefully, trying to judge whether he could shatter the glass against the wall. How could he blame Kira for her own feelings changing? His own feelings had not changed, had only deepened over time, but she hadn't done the same things to him, hadn't betrayed him for a shiny new toy. He set the glass down near the sink. The reasonable part of his mind knew that it was the right decision for her, that it might save a lot of heartache in the end for her, and he couldn't blame her for it no matter how much he might feel differently.


End file.
